#61 Emmanuel

Emmanuel, founder of the Gbeke­bii School of Art and Cul­ture in Jamestown, Accra, con­tin­ues to pur­sue a clear mis­sion: provid­ing access to edu­ca­tion for chil­dren from the sur­round­ing slum areas.

A major chal­lenge remains that many par­ents depend on their children’s labor. A warm meal, fin­anced by Mama Afrika, helps con­vince fam­il­ies to send their chil­dren to school.

Con­di­tions are also dif­fi­cult: the ren­ted school build­ing meets only min­im­al stand­ards, with recur­ring struc­tur­al issues—from roof dam­age to the lack of prop­er san­it­a­tion facil­it­ies. Des­pite these chal­lenges, Emmanuel works tire­lessly to improve the situ­ation for the children.

The most urgent fin­an­cial need is around €6,000 per year to provide salar­ies for cur­rently volun­teer teach­ers and ensure they can stay. Addi­tion­ally, about €7,200 per year is needed for school meals. Encour­agingly, a col­lab­or­a­tion with Rising Classrooms – Ver­ein für Schu­lentwicklung in Ghana is cur­rently being developed to strengthen sup­port for the school.